50 days after breaking his neck in practice, gymnast Brijesh Yadav succumbed to his injuries. The 17-year-old went through two complex surgeries but his respiratory system could not be fixed. It’s a sad end to what was a promising career for the national-level silver medalist. Brijesh was injured on 11th October while practicing the double front flip at a gymnasium in Agra. He was training for the nationals, hoping to better his silver.

“When he was brought to the hospital, his condition was very serious. He was paralyzed below neck. The injuries damaged the respiratory centres. The surgeries were successful but we could never take him completely off ventilator due to damage to the respiratory centres. After some time, he developed infections and it further affected respiratory recovery, which ultimately led to his death. The country has lost a talented young gymnast,” Dr Arun Bhanot (chief of spine surgery, Paras hospital), told the Times of India.